A Clintonville man is accused of breaking an infant’s leg.
David A. Newling, 32, is charged with felony child abuse and felony child neglect resulting in harm.
Shortly after 12:30 a.m. Nov. 10, Clintonville Police Officer Wade Wudtke was dispatched to Shawano Medical Center. The parents of a 3-week-old infant had brought her into the Emergency Room with a broken left femur.
According to the criminal complaint, the ER physician told Wudtke it was difficult to break an infant’s femur because of the bone’s elasticity. The doctor also said the middle rather than the edge of the bone was broken.
Newling told Wudtke he had been been changing the baby’s diaper when he heard a popping sound while holding her legs.
Newling reportedly said he was afraid he had injured her, started to “freak out,” ran to the mother and told her that he broke the baby’s leg.
He then woke up his ex-girlfriend and told her what happened, the complaint says.
Both women inspected the baby, but did not find anything wrong, Newling said.
Later that night, the ex-girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter was changing the baby’s diaper when she noticed the baby’s leg was “not working.”
The parents called Nurse Direct and were told to take the baby to an Emergency Room to be examined.
The baby was later transferred to St. Vincent’s Medical Center.